Optimizing nutritional value and biological profile of non-conventional forages for animal feeding by utilizing sodium hydroxide

Abstract
AbstractIncreasing quality and decreasing quantity represent global trends in the forage processing for animal feed. Consequently, various techniques are applied to achieve these objectives. This study aims to evaluate the internal quality and biological attributes of leaves in animal reproduction by applying sodium hydroxide (NaOH) concentrations (control, 2, 4, 6, and 8%) and utilizing leaves from four non-conventional plants, namely Hedychium gardnerianum(HG), Pittosporum undulatum(PU), Arundo donax(AD), and Acacia melanoxylon(AM), while also examining their interactions simultaneously. NaOH doses did not affect the organic matter digestibility. A 2% NaOH concentration positively affected both acid detergent fibre and neutral detergent fibre. Notably, 6% NaOH significantly impacted dry matter, while ash content and dry matter digestibility peaked under treatment with 8% NaOH. The Arundo donaxvariety recorded the best values in ash and organic matter digestibility, while the leaves of Acacia melanoxylonsignificantly (P ≤ 0.05) influenced dry matter, acid detergent fibre, acid detergent lignin, and crude protein. The co-application of 2% NaOH with plant varieties demonstrated the most significant effectiveness on the observed characteristics, followed by4% NaOH showing a subsequent impact. The findings of this study propose that utilizing NaOH concentrations with these plants represents a promising approach for including these forages in animal feeds.\r\n\r\nKeywords:in vitro digestibility, ruminant nutrition, animal feeding,alternative forages, NaOH\r\n

Author
Abdulrahman Smail Ibrahim

DOI
https://doi.org/10.31893/multiscience.2024235

Publisher
Multidisciplinary Science Journal

ISSN

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